Category: European Union

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced a military aid package for Ukraine valued at up to $6 billion. Analysts say the aid is desperately needed to help Ukraine regain the upper hand after months of having to ration ammunition. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has details. …

Washington — British officials formally charged two men Friday with spying on behalf of China in the latest in a series of European arrests of suspected Chinese intelligence agents. The two men, Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, were charged with violations of the Official Secrets Act by “providing prejudicial information to a foreign state, China” between 2021 and February 2023. Their arrests on Monday occurred at the same time that German authorities arrested three people suspected of spying for China and leaking information on military technology. German authorities separately arrested an assistant to a far-right European Parliament member. The Chinese Embassy in London said the charges Cash and Berry face are “completely fabricated” and “malicious slander,” a part of British “anti-China political manipulation.” Dominic Murphy, who leads the counterterrorism command of London’s Metropolitan Police, told The Associated Press the charges are the result of “an extremely complex investigation into what are very serious allegations.” Cash, a parliamentary researcher with the governing Conservative Party, and Berry, an academic, have been granted bail and released after a court appearance in London. They will next appear in court for a preliminary hearing on May 10. Cash maintains his innocence, while Berry and his lawyers have provided no public statements. British and EU officials have warned of the threat that Chinese covert activities pose, with Ken McCallum, the head of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, warning in 2022 that China has sought to target and influence British political officials. Last month, the U.S. and U.K. governments announced new sanctions against hackers with ties to the Chinese government, and both countries accused the hackers of targeting government officials and businesses at the direction of Chinese government leadership. Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press.  …

LONDON — Britain’s King Charles III will return to public duties next week for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer as he makes good progress following treatment and a period of recuperation, Buckingham Palace said on Friday. In February, the palace revealed that the 75-year-old king had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer detected in tests after a corrective procedure for an enlarged prostate. Although Charles continued with official state business, the diagnosis led him to postpone public engagements to begin treatment and rest. “His majesty’s treatment program will continue, but doctors are sufficiently pleased with the progress made so far that the king is now able to resume a number of public-facing duties,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said. “His majesty is greatly encouraged to be resuming some public-facing duties and very grateful to his medical team for their continued care and expertise.” Although it was too early to say how much longer his cancer treatment would last, the spokesperson said his doctors were “very encouraged by the progress made so far and remain positive about the king’s continued recovery.” No further details about his condition or his treatment were given, in line with the usual stance on medical privacy. While pictured and filmed carrying out some official duties in private, Charles’s only public appearance since his cancer diagnosis came last month when he greeted well-wishers in an impromptu walkabout after an Easter church service in Windsor, raising hopes that his health was improving. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak responded to the news of the king’s return to public duties, saying on social media site X: “Brilliant news to end the week!” Japanese emperor visit To mark his return, Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, will visit a cancer treatment center in London next Tuesday, the palace said. It was also confirmed that the Japanese Emperor Naruhito and his wife, Empress Masako, would pay a state visit in late June. However, Charles will not carry out his usual summer program and his plans will be crafted in consultation with his medical team to minimize risks to recovery, the palace said. The king’s absence has coincided with news that his daughter-in-law Kate, wife of his son and heir Prince William, was undergoing preventative chemotherapy after tests in the wake of major abdominal surgery revealed cancer had been present. The Princess of Wales, often known by her maiden name … “King Charles to resume public duties after cancer diagnosis” →

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ANKARA — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s planned meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, set for May 9 at the White House, has been postponed because of changes in the Turkish leader’s schedule, a Turkish official said on Friday.  A new date will soon be set, the official said, requesting anonymity.  The White House had not formally announced the visit, but a U.S. official told Reuters in late March that the White House had offered, and Ankara had accepted, May 9 for the meeting.  …

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Warsaw, Poland — Olga drew her index finger abruptly across her neck as she recounted the threats her husband leveled at her after he returned to Russia, wounded from fighting in Ukraine. “I’m going to cut your head and hands off and beat you up. I’ll burn you in acid,” he threatened her, she said. Even before her husband went off to fight in Ukraine, he was a violent alcoholic, Olga — not her real name — told AFP. When he returned home seven months later, he was even worse. And now he was a war hero, endowed with a sense of impunity and moral righteousness. “He became even more radical,” she said. “He said that he was untouchable, that nothing could happen to him.” Domestic violence Long before Russia invaded Ukraine, rights groups had sounded the alarm over the country’s woeful record on protecting women from domestic violence. In 2017, lawmakers — with the blessing of the Orthodox Church — reduced penalties for Russians convicted of beating family members. And the Kremlin under Vladimir Putin has in recent years argued that abuse within families should be resolved by families, not law enforcement. With the war in Ukraine, campaigners say that an already widespread problem could now be getting even worse. While there are no publicly available figures on the scope of violence perpetrated by veterans, campaigners have identified a slew of survivors. Local media, too, is awash with reports of violent crimes committed by ex-soldiers. AFP spoke to two Russian women about the violence they had suffered from veterans of the war in Ukraine. Both requested anonymity for fear of reprisals. Their testimonies are rare, given how the Kremlin has sought to exalt veterans fighting in a war it paints as existential. Moscow has brought in new laws to criminalize criticism of the Russian army and its soldiers. ‘Ice-cold’ eyes Olga’s life in her isolated Russian town had long been marked by violence. Her husband was an alcoholic who regularly raped and beat her, stole money and monitored her every social interaction, she said. Over and over, he would beg for forgiveness after an altercation, only to become violent again, she said. So, when he volunteered for the army in October 2022, Olga hoped that proximity to “death and tears” might calm him down and sober him up. Her hopes were dashed. He returned from the front earlier than expected … “Russian women face violence from Ukraine veterans” →

Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on Friday that Russia’s capture of a major nuclear power plant threatened a radiation catastrophe, as the country marked the anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in southern Ukraine in the first days of its 2022 invasion. Both sides regularly accuse each other of endangering safety at the site, Europe’s largest nuclear facility. “For 785 days now, Russian terrorists have held the Zaporizhzhia NPP hostage,” Zelenskyy said on social media. “It is the entire world’s responsibility to put pressure on Russia to ensure that ZNPP is liberated and returned to full Ukrainian control, as well as that all Ukrainian nuclear facilities are protected from Russian strikes,” he added. “This is the only way to prevent new radiation disasters, which the Russian occupiers’ presence at ZNPP constantly threatens.” The call came 38 years after the meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. The incident, which is considered the world’s worst nuclear disaster, contaminated vast areas of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. Swathes of western Europe were also exposed to radiation. “The Chernobyl disaster demonstrated how rapidly deadly threats can emerge,” Zelenskyy said Friday. Russian forces captured the decommissioned Chernobyl facility on February 24, 2022 — the first day of its invasion, when it sent troops into Ukraine from Belarus — but abandoned it weeks later. Russian troops have controlled the Zaporizhzhia plant since early March 2022. The International Atomic Energy Agency, which has dispatched inspectors to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, has expressed concern over safety at the plant. Moscow has accused Ukraine of firing drones at the power station, while Kyiv says Moscow has militarized the facility and is holding it “hostage.” …

WASHINGTON — Ukraine has sidelined U.S.-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks for now in its fight against Russia, in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press. The U.S. agreed to send 31 Abrams to Ukraine in January 2023 after an aggressive monthslong campaign by Kyiv arguing that the tanks, which cost about $10 million apiece, were vital to its ability to breach Russian lines. But the battlefield has changed substantially since then, notably by the ubiquitous use of Russian surveillance drones and hunter-killer drones. Those weapons have made it more difficult for Ukraine to protect the tanks when they are quickly detected and hunted by Russian drones or rounds. Five of the 31 tanks have already been lost to Russian attacks. The proliferation of drones on the Ukrainian battlefield means “there isn’t open ground that you can just drive across without fear of detection,” a senior defense official told reporters Thursday. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide an update on U.S. weapons support for Ukraine before Friday’s Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting. For now, the tanks have been moved from the front lines, and the U.S. will work with the Ukrainians to reset tactics, said Joint Chiefs of Staff Vice Chairman Adm. Christopher Grady and a third defense official who confirmed the move on the condition of anonymity. “When you think about the way the fight has evolved, massed armor in an environment where unmanned aerial systems are ubiquitous can be at risk,” Grady told the AP in an interview this week, adding that tanks are still important. “Now, there is a way to do it,” he said. “We’ll work with our Ukrainian partners, and other partners on the ground, to help them think through how they might use that, in that kind of changed environment now, where everything is seen immediately.” News of the sidelined tanks comes as the U.S. marks the two-year anniversary of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a coalition of about 50 countries that meets monthly to assess Ukraine’s battlefield needs and identify where to find needed ammunition, weapons or maintenance to keep Ukraine’s troops equipped. Recent aid packages, including the $1 billion military assistance package signed by President Joe Biden on Wednesday, also reflect a wider reset for Ukrainian forces in the … “Ukraine pulls US-provided Abrams tanks from front lines over Russian drone threats” →

Thirty-eight years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, hundreds of people work to dismantle the long-defunct power plant and control the contaminated exclusion zone, a 30-kilometer area surrounding it. Lesia Bakalets has the story of a man who lived through the tragedy and still works there. …

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BRUSSELS — Chinese security equipment company Nuctech’s Dutch and Polish offices were raided by EU competition regulators, the company said on Wednesday, as the European Commission cracks down on companies receiving unfair state subsidies which put EU peers at a disadvantage. The European Commission has launched four investigations against Chinese companies since its foreign subsidies regulation introduced in July 2023 allowed the executive to assess whether subsidies allowed companies to submit overly advantageous offers in procurement tenders to edge out EU rivals. “Nuctech offices in the Netherlands and Poland are being inspected by the European Commission in relation to the Foreign Subsidies Regulation,” partly-state owned Nuctech said in a statement. “Nuctech is cooperating with the European Commission and is committed to defending its reputation of a fully independent and self-supporting economic operator,” the maker of security inspection scanners for airports and ports said. The Commission on Tuesday announced dawn raids at an unnamed company in an unnamed EU country, which could lead to another investigation if the executive finds sufficient evidence of distortive subsidies. “The Commission has indications that the inspected company may have received foreign subsidies that could distort the internal market pursuant to the Foreign Subsidies Regulation,” the Commission said in a statement. Nuctech was blacklisted by the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security, Commerce in 2020. An official from China’s commerce ministry earlier condemned the raid, saying it interfered with the normal order of fair competition. The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU said it was told that IT equipment and employees’ mobile phones were seized by regulators who also demanded access to data. “The EU’s actions send a detrimental message not only to Chinese enterprises but to all non-EU companies conducting business in the bloc,” it said in a statement. A Chinese Ministry of Commerce official said in a statement the raid undermined the confidence of all foreign enterprises in their operations in Europe and said China would take all necessary measures to safeguard the rights of its firms. …

BARCELONA, Spain — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez denied corruption allegations against his wife but said he will consider resigning after the launch Wednesday of a judicial investigation into accusations by a right-wing legal platform that she used her position to influence business deals. Sánchez said in a letter posted on his X account that while the allegations against his wife, Begoña Gómez, are false, he is canceling his public agenda until Monday when he will announce whether he will continue or step down. “I need to stop and reflect,” Sánchez wrote. “I must answer the question if it is worth it to continue, given the mud pit the right and far right have made out of our politics, if I must continue at the helm of the government or renounce that highest of honors.” Sánchez, 52, has been Spain’s prime minister since 2018. He was able to form a new left-wing coalition government in November to start another four-year term. He is one of Europe’s longest-serving Socialist leaders. Earlier on Wednesday, a Spanish judge agreed to probe allegations of corruption made by a private group with a history of filing lawsuits mainly for right-wing causes. The court based in Madrid will consider the allegations and proceed with the investigation or toss it out. “Begoña will defend her honor and collaborate with the justice system in every way that is required to clarify that these facts that appear scandalous are in fact nonexistent,” Sánchez said. Gómez, 49, does not hold public office and maintains a low political profile. Manos Limpias, or “Clean Hands,” accuses Gómez of allegedly having used her position to influence business deals. The court did not provide further information and said that the probe was under seal. Manos Limpias describes itself as a union, but its main activity is a platform pursuing legal cases. Many have been linked to right-wing causes. It acts as the “popular prosecution,” a peculiarity of Spanish law that allows individuals or entities to take part in certain criminal cases even when they haven’t been directly harmed by the accused. Justice Minister Félix Bolaños called the new allegations “false.” Second Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz, the leader of the junior member of Sánchez’s government, publicly backed him against “this offensive by the Right.” The possibility of a governmental crisis comes just weeks before important regional elections in Catalonia followed by European elections in June. … “Spain’s prime minister says he will consider resigning after wife is targeted by judicial probe” →

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new york — Russia blocked a U.N. Security Council resolution Wednesday reaffirming the need to prevent a nuclear arms race in outer space. The measure was proposed jointly by the United States, a nuclear power, and Japan, the only nation ever to be attacked with nuclear bombs. “We have only begun to understand the catastrophic ramifications of a nuclear explosion in space,” said U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. “How it could destroy thousands of satellites operated by countries and companies around the world — and wipe out the vital communications, scientific, meteorological, agricultural, commercial and national security services we all depend on.” The failed text recalled the responsibility of states to comply with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which is the basic framework on international space law. It says outer space is to be shared among nations and shall be free of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction. The treaty also says the moon and other celestial bodies “shall be used exclusively for peaceful purposes,” and astronauts shall be “regarded as the envoys of mankind.” The proposed resolution also called on states “not to develop nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction specifically designed to be placed in orbit around the Earth, or to be installed on celestial bodies, or to be stationed in outer space in any other manner.” Thomas-Greenfield noted that President Vladimir Putin has said publicly that Russia has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space. “And so, today’s veto begs the question: Why? Why, if you are following the rules, would you not support a resolution that reaffirms them?” she asked. “What could you possibly be hiding? It’s baffling, and it’s a shame.” Thomas-Greenfield just returned from Japan, where she visited Nagasaki, a city on which the United States dropped one of two atomic bombs at the end of World War II. “It was a reminder of our profound responsibility to prevent the scourge of war and ensure that no place experiences the horror of nuclear weaponry ever again,” she said. “Adopting this draft resolution would have been a positive and practical contribution to the promotion of the peaceful use and exploration of outer space,” said Japanese Ambassador Kazuyuki Yamazaki. “If adopted, we could have demonstrated our unity in reaffirming the principle of no placement of any weapons of mass destruction in outer space and in opposing the development of such … “Russia blocks UN resolution on peaceful use of outer space” →

A breakdown in the international rule of law is being accelerated through rapid advancement in technology and artificial intelligence, which risks a “supercharging” of human rights violations. That’s according to the new annual report by rights group Amnesty International. Henry Ridgwell has more. …

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London — French authorities say a 7-year-old girl was among five migrants who drowned in the English Channel on Tuesday just hours after British lawmakers voted through legislation aimed at deterring asylum-seekers from making the crossing. Local officials said the inflatable dinghy carrying some 112 people hit a sandbank after leaving a beach near the village of Wimereux. “A few hundred meters from the shore, the engine stopped, and several people fell into the water,” said Jacques Billant, prefect of the French Pas-de-Calais region. “Despite this complex and delicate situation, 57 people who were still in the inflatable boat remained on board. Not willing to be rescued, they managed to restart the engine and decided to continue their sea route towards Britain,” Billant told reporters. Such is the determination of the migrants to reach British shores. Over 6,300 people have made the journey across the English Channel in small boats so far this year. The tragedy happened early Tuesday morning, a few hours after British lawmakers passed legislation that the government hopes will allow it to deport asylum-seekers arriving in small boats across the English Channel to Rwanda for processing. The migrants would be processed in the African state and have no right to return to Britain, even those granted refugee status. The legislation effectively orders the courts to ignore existing British laws or international treaties that could block the deportations. Britain’s Supreme Court ruled the policy was illegal in November 2023, as there was a risk that refugees could be sent from Rwanda back to their countries of origin. It is unclear if further legal challenges could delay the flights. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the prospect of being sent thousands of kilometers away to Rwanda will deter migrants from making the journey to Britain. “The first flight will leave in 10 to 12 weeks. Now, of course, that is later than we wanted. But we have always been clear that processing will take time,” Sunak said Monday evening after the legislation passed. The government argues the policy is moral, as it aims to end the dangerous journeys operated by people smugglers. But both the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the High Commissioner for Human Rights have called for Britain to rethink the legislation. “By shifting the responsibility for refugees, reducing the U.K. courts’ ability to scrutinize removal decisions, restricting access to legal remedies in the U.K. … “Channel tragedy spotlights Britain’s Rwanda migrant law” →

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Istanbul — Nine Turks working for pro-Kurdish media outlets were arrested Tuesday in Turkey, their employers and lawyers said, with a relative of one saying they were accused of “terrorist activities.” Four women and five men were arrested at dawn in Istanbul, the capital Ankara, and the southeastern city of Urfa, lawyers from the Media and Law Studies Association (MLSA), a press freedom organization, said. MLSA said those arrested work for news organizations including the Mezopotamia Agency and the newspaper Yeni Yasam and include several journalists and “press employees.” The nine were denied access to their lawyers for 24 hours, MLSA said in a message on X. “No declaration has been made about the reasons for the detention of the journalists” on Tuesday morning, it said. Mezopotamia said one of its journalists was arrested in Ankara during “a police operation at his home.” A relative of one of the journalists, who asked not to be named, told AFP the police showed up at the journalist’s home at dawn. She said the families of the journalists had been informed that their arrests were “part of an investigation opened in 2022 for terrorist activities.” The journalists based in Istanbul were being held on Tuesday in a police station in the city, she said. The international press freedom organization Reporters Without Borders, contacted in Istanbul, said it was “monitoring the situation closely.” Elsewhere, Belgian police searched the studios of two Kurdish channels, Sterk TV and Medya News, that broadcast from Belgium, the two media outlets said in a statement to AFP. The Belgian public prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Tuesday that the searches were carried out “during the night” “at the request of the French judiciary,” which is seeking to “establish possible evidence of terrorist financing. A source close to the police operation who asked not to be named told AFP those raids had “no link” to the arrests in Turkey. …

Baku, Azerbaijan — Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said on Tuesday a peace deal with Armenia was closer than ever before, as teams from both countries began demarcating the border in a bid to end decades of territorial disputes and clashes. Aliyev’s optimism comes amid progress on marking the border despite protests in Armenia, still bruised after Baku seized control of the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region in a lightning offensive last year. On Tuesday, teams from both countries installed the first border marker after officials had agreed to delimit a section based on Soviet-era maps. “We are close as never before,” Aliyev said on Tuesday of an elusive peace deal. “We now have a common understanding of how the peace agreement should look like. We only need to address details,” he said. “Both sides need time… We both have political will to do it.” Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan last month agreed to return four border villages that were part of Azerbaijan when the two countries were republics of the Soviet Union. Aliyev said Tuesday he had accepted a proposal by Kazakhstan to host a meeting of their foreign ministers. Several countries have tried to play mediator — including Russia, Iran, the United States, France and Germany — but years of talks have failed. Aliyev downplayed the need for third party intervention. “We are not talking about any kind of mediation, because what happens now on our border demonstrates that when we are left alone… we can agree sooner than later,” he said. Experts from both countries installed the first marker on Tuesday, they announced in identical statements. Rallies had earlier erupted in Armenia, with protestors briefly blocking traffic at several points on the Armenia-Georgia highway, fearful of giving up more land. Yerevan said Tuesday it would not transfer “Armenia’s sovereign territory.” The four abandoned settlements that are to be returned to Azerbaijan — Lower Askipara, Baghanis Ayrum, Kheirimly and Gizilhajili — were taken over by Armenian forces in the 1990s, forcing their ethnic Azerbaijani residents to flee. But Armenian residents of nearby villages worry they will end up isolated from the rest of the country and that some houses could fall into Azerbaijani territory. The area has strategic importance for landlocked Armenia: Several small sections of the highway to Georgia — a vital trade artery — could be handed over. The delimited border will run close to a major Russian gas pipeline, … “Azerbaijan says ‘closer than ever’ to Armenia peace deal” →

After years of political wrangling and court battles, British lawmakers passed legislation Monday that the government hopes will allow it to deport asylum seekers arriving in small boats across the English Channel to Rwanda for processing. As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, the dangers of the migrant crossings were underlined just hours after the law was passed. …

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